18-yr-old girl arrested for online sale of photos of herself naked

Police on Monday arrested an 18-year-old girl on suspicion of breaking child prostitution and pornography laws after she was caught selling photos of herself naked.

The girl was quoted by police as saying that she was “looking for some spending money,” and based on her mobile phone records, had sold photos to around 150 people since November last year, earning some 1.1 million yen.

According to police, between December 2009 and April 2010, the girl posted on an Internet message board, advertising that she was selling photos of herself and underwear. She reportedly sent a total of 43 nude photos to a Kyoto man in his 40s and a Nagoya man in his 20s for 12,000 yen. Police discovered the girl by using the contact details she had posted on the message board.

Just another example of declining moral standards and how today's children look for an easy way to make money. I agree with "BurakuminDes", why didn't they arrest the scumbags who bought the photos????

I think that she's being arrested because she's been doing this since november last year, so some of the photos would have been of a 17-year-old. Of course it's stupid because in most places in Japan you can have sex at 16, so why should the police prosecute someone for taking pictures of a 17-year-old when they could be legally having sex with a 16-year-old? It's just stupid and inconsistent, but that's the logical result of the international pressure groups who have pushed for internationally consistent child porn laws, regardless of the local age of consent. At the end of the day the buck stops with the spineless politicians who allowed this inconsistent and idiotic legislation.

It is not legal in Japan and most 18y/o Japanese girls don't know their head from their tale.

As far as the 'victimless crime' statement goes: That may be so, in this case, but it is promoting child porn, which is the most disgusting thing I can think of and the penalties for which should be just as severe as those for premeditated murder.

Oh, hang on! This is Japan. It's not illegal to have a collection of kiddy fiddler pics, is it? Only to sell them. If this chicky gave the photos away and charged 12,000yen for postage she would not be in trouble. Go figure???

I'm surprised that she limited herself to only photos and didn't get in to prostitution. For the record, I'm against child pornography even if she was the one selling the photos. It just leads to certain people objectifying children as sex objects. It's bad enough when 20-somethings girls act like underage school girls, we don't need the real thing.

I think when a lot of people on here are talking about legality, the problem lies with 'pornography and prostitution' being lumped together. Porn is one thing, although technically with Japan's laws the young lady is still underage, but 'prostitution', and that can be loosely applied here, is something else.

If you read my other comment, you'd see I know the legal age in Japan. My point, which you seemed not to get, was the stupidity behind these laws.

and most 18y/o Japanese girls don't know their head from their tale.
Really? I'm guessing 18 year old Western women back home are pillars of maturity? In reality, most Western women I know take until about 40 until they begin to show any real signs of truly growing up. I should replace "most" with "a few" if anything.

I saw a feminist the other day saying that girls should have kids when they are 14. That is not something I agree with but according to her a) they are physically capable of doing so (I honestly have no idea) and b) it lets them concentrate on career building later on in life.

As for me, I guess people (kids or otherwise) will do what they want, when they want to. As long as neither party are being forced, I think it's their choice, nobody else's.

It is not legal in Japan and most 18y/o Japanese girls don't know their head from their tale.

Wow? Seriously? How dumb do you think they are? She obviously went to a market where she knew she was going to get some fast cash. She did not, for all we know, have any sexual relations. She did not have to mess with Yaks or get a loan that she had to worry about paying back. No worries about STD's or having to deal with prostitution. She knew what she wanted and did her thing. Your ideals may not agree with what she did, as I am sure that goes for most people on this site, but to call her dumb/ignorant/whatever is ignorance itself. There are plenty of 18-year-olds that are doing different things (legal/illegal) and getting by. Not sure when you left under your parent's wing but I am sure you did know head from your tail.

Ok, she's 18 years old (legally agreed international age of consent as far as I know). Or were the pictures she posted while she was 17? If they're pics from when she was 17~18 I think they're still making waay too much of a deal out of this. Sheesh.

Well it is sad she felt she had to go to these extremes for some extra cash..
I for one ask also what about the men?...But to me at 18 she is of age, but I understand the law...I thought it to be strange that at 16 they can legally have sex...but at 18 you cant show off your body?
I know she was selling pics way different than just showing her body..And true what taj said..evading taxes..to me seems to be the bigger issue here..i am not for child porn and can see how at 17 she was doing this it is seen as child pornography...the men should really be held responsible for this as well

@ReformedBasher..I hear what you are saying about being a mother at 14.."not recommended"..I had my first child at 16, and it was not easy, but I can say I was lucky enough to have made a life for myself, I did not go to collage but I did get my high school diploma and I am a florist..maybe not something to brag about but , I didnt just cross my arms and do nothing about it.
sad to say alot of ppl, get stuck and GIVE up...

18 is perfectly legal in Japan to appear in adult films. It's the minimum age.

This also has nothing to do with prostitution, since there was no purchase of sexual services.

Just on the side, you would be surprised to know how many Japanese high school girls get paid to "date" older men. I'd say over half the girls at my school did it at one time. Anyway, damaged goods end up dating foreigners who won't find out about their past.

hey goddog,lol...college..uh hum..clears throat...
thanks..
And would it matter if nude or in underwear?
And by law you know even if gifts they would be in trouble cause she a "minor"..
still dont see why she was arrested,lol

Just on the side, you would be surprised to know how many Japanese high school girls get paid to "date" older men. I'd say over half the girls at my school did it at one time. Anyway, damaged goods end up dating foreigners who won't find out about their past.

I seen this alot here in Puerto Rico...not the school girl making money like this but hey who knows..but I worked as florist in a haotle here for many yrs, and alot of the younger women would go out with older men who stayed at the hotel for money, I ahd been offered to do so, but no..its to dangerous..most men say 'you dont need to sleep with me'but in the end thats what theyd want..duh!..But sadly a girl got aids while doing this..alot of controversy for this, in the end the man new he had it and slept with her anyways..sick!
I just think it is a shame ppl.do these things just becsue of money..it is a necessity..but isnt your life more important?

Japanese society is increasingly gaining on Western society, specifically America's, in terms of degradation. Geez...what has the world come to? An 18 year old selling nude pics of herself for "spending money". For crying out loud...there is no hope left for the future.

First, why didn't they arrest the men who bought the pictures?! Second, what I find most disturbing is that an 18-year-old girl would think of selling naked pictures of herself. When I was that age, I thought...hmmm, think I'll apply for a job at that pizza joint around the corner.

She wasn't having sex, just taking photos of herself in the nude. Apparently the "child prostitution" charge stemmed from some of the pictures being taken before she turned 18. It's still bizarre how Japan insists that you're a minor until age 20, yet consensual sex is OK at age 18. The whole point of being a minor is that someone else has to be responsible for your actions because you (theoretically) are too young to do so for yourself.

Has anybody thought that she was nailed not for posing, but for the SELLING? In other words, most of us would say... oh 18... that is sick! But whatever. The real problem with the first charge is that she was selling porn without a license. It is not the bending, it is the vending.

And yes, some of the photos were of her when she was 17, I guess.

Look, so the other charge comes down to this: if they let her get away with vending just because the photos are of herself, they have to admit that a 17 can consent. That aint gonna happen. So that is where the child porn bit of it comes in.

So she got nailed. Pro tip: if you want to show porn on your website and sell advertising, OK! If you want to sell the porn, you need a license. Either way, you need to certify that the images are of a person older than 18...

Klein: Thanks for the info, I was a little curious about what laws she actually broke. By the way considering nude photos of an 18 year old child porn is pretty insane. At the end of the day this is a stupid case and the police would better serve the public by concentrating on actual crimes that harm people.

Well what a ridiculous law, a ridiculous arrest and a ridiculous sitution and I see ridiculous people thinking this whole thing is actually doing anything of any good whatsoever. Ridiculous news like this seems to like their inhaler for their constant panic attacks stemming from their ridiculous belief that society is some sort of imminent danger from teenage sexuality. The true danger is the people holding that ridiculous belief.

Klein2 said: In other words, most of us would say... oh 18... that is sick! But whatever.

Excuse me? For starters, I think you got no business speaking for "most of us" when you don't even have a lousy poll to cite, and second, what is sick about an 18 year old? To both points, the web is jam packed with porn claiming to feature 18 year olds.

Please, don't guess in this manner. First you make it sound like a fact, then tack on "I guess"?

And here is a question: If underage nude pictures can be art, why can't a person of age sell nude pictures of THEMSELVES when they were underage? You may not have recognized consent then, but why can't it be recognized now that the person is an adult? The whole point of the thing is to make sure kids are not traumatized, and if they make it to adulthood and they are not, and positive consent has made it to legal age for this, then what in the world is the problem?

@ VelvetRosetta
Glad to hear things worked out for you. My sister also had a child at 16, life was rough for both her and her son, but then again she was entitled to cheap housing and other benefits.

I'm a guy so honestly speaking, I can't say whether it's a good or bad thing for girls to have babies at a relatively young age. I guess when life was simpler, extended families would help after both mother's and children more than now though, but this would depend on the culture, I'm not going to generalise.

But I digress. Surely an 18 year old girl can do what she wants (within reason). It's her body, if she wants to make some money from it, I say good luck to her. If it was my daughter, I'd raise eyebrows and probably try to talk her into doing something else, but I would be more worried about her getting in trouble with strangers than anything. It's all part of growing up.

@ReformedBasher..thank you...
And I agree with you to some extent ..(Surely an 18 year old girl can do what she wants (within reason). It's her body)
18... at that age it is normal to experiment and most do as they please at this age anyways, but on the other hand I can see what Klien2, was sayng to be true..

I believe art to be beautiful..nudity can have a sensul side not always sexual or vulgar, but again..to what MistWizard posted I feel it falls in the category in which Klein2 was explaining...

"The real problem with the first charge is that she was selling porn without a license. It is not the bending, it is the vending".

VelvetRosetta, I was mostly speaking toward the child prostitution aspect, although now that I think about it, I may have confused that with child porn, same as many posters here I guess. Hardly takes away from anything I said about how 18 year olds are viewed though, does it?

But as for the licensing I can't see why it should be serious enough to warrant arrest if its softcore pics of herself for herself to sell for her own profit. I would think voluntary questioning and a fine would be sufficient.

And yes, if you sell pictures of yourself in the nude as a baby to erstwhile strangers, then you are engaging in child prostitution. Rediculous? Probably. But the first question that's going to be asked is "Why are you selling them to a stranger?" and the second question would be "Why would they want to buy them?" Unless you have real good answers for both of those questions, the authorities would be taking a CLOSE look at you.

This is a crime if the pics were taken when she was underage. We are going through the same issue here in the states. The line has to be drawn by age to keep children safe from predators. She should take new shots, since she is of age, and sell those (of course when this situation is over). She'll need even more spending money then and it seems like she isn't having much trouble finding buyers.

VelvetRosetta, I was mostly speaking toward the child prostitution aspect, although now that I think about it, I may have confused that with child porn, same as many posters here I guess. Hardly takes away from anything I said about how 18 year olds are viewed though, does it?

But as for the licensing I can't see why it should be serious enough to warrant arrest if its softcore pics of herself for herself to sell for her own profit. I would think voluntary questioning and a fine would be sufficient.

No not doesnt take away at how they are viewed...
And i do agree that a fine should have been more adequate..
But i can aslo see how the government sees it as laundering money..
Which is a federal crime, though if this be the case for her arrest then it would have nothing to do with child porn..child porn i can see if there is proof of pics being bought under the age 18...and even so shouldn't the 2 men be held accountable as well?

I dont see naked baby pics as wrong, as long as it is for a babay album you pass down to your child..not everyone has a disgusting dirty mind..
though ppl may see selling nude baby pics as child porn not prostition, but seeing how the comment was meant with no harm and are of himself, i think its ok..and wont harm or hurt him for saying this, now if it had been said of his daughter or other person it would have been seen as offensive.

I have a few pics of my children and grandson and see them as cute but i would not go off and show them to just anyone..

There is age of majority (adulthood) and age of sexual consent. In Japan I think its 20 for age of majority and 18 for sexual consent. Which makes this very confusing. She is technically a child so this is child porn. However, if she met them in a Love Hotel it would have been ok for them to have sex.

So a girl takes a picture of herself naked, and sells that picture, and is charged for child porn. Sorry, but that is totally wrong. Its her body, and if she is taking the pics on her own, and selling them on her own. The girl isn't selling her self, just photos of herself. Where is the harm? Who is harmed by this transaction? She is obviously not being taken advantage of here. No one coerced her into taking these pictures... So again, where is the harm?

The intent of these laws, are primarily to protect the victims of child porn, and to a lesser extent, to prevent those with pedophilic tendencies, from obtaining these materials for their gratification, with the assumption, that these materials, could cause these people to victimize others as well. However there is no victim in this case to protect.

As far as the 'victimless crime' statement goes: That may be so, in this case, but it is promoting child porn, which is the most disgusting thing I can think of and the penalties for which should be just as severe as those for premeditated murder.

How can this possibly, in any way, be considered promoting "child porn"? I consider myself to be a man of the world and have a very good idea of the differences between women and children, being married to one and a father of another. 18 year-old girls biologically definitely fall into the adult category.

While I have nothing but hatred for those who touch children (by which I mean CHILDREN, not young adults), it is not on a par with premeditated murder. Equivalent punishments would provide an incentive to kill the only witness to the crime (i.e. the child), as the punishment would be the same.

If she didn't post her contact details, how would any of her customers contact her?

And I don't see the problem. You can go to Kinokuniya and buy a photo book full of naked 18 year old girls and it's not a problem. Looking younger, there are books of girls under 10 years old slurping ice cream suggestively in a tiny little bikini or covered loosely by a sheet. How is this really different?